Big Life

Ha Jae-Gun handed the manuscript toward the tombstone that remained silent.

The title written on the cover page: Great Life.

Ha Jae-Gun had written this himself. The precious original, which was obtained from Seo Sang-Do, was kept somewhere deep in his study. This was a copy of the manuscript.

“I’ve lost contact with your son, who had given me the original of this manuscript. I had wanted to discuss this with him instead,” Ha Jae-Gun muttered, looking at the manuscript. He could still recall when Seo Sang-Do handed him the original of Great Life, along with the contents written in the letter for Ha Jae-Gun.

Seo Sang-Do mentioned that this was the only work that had escaped the fire, and like his father’s other keepsakes, he would love for Ha Jae-Gun to take care of it. His earnest request was all he left in his letter before he disappeared altogether.

“No matter how long I’ve waited, your son has not contacted me again since then... I’ve... thought long and hard about what I should do with the manuscript. I was also perplexed, wondering whether it was right for me to bury the work of such an amazing writer like yours forever.”

Ha Jae-Gun laid the manuscript down on the grass and flipped through the pages. “My most respected mentor even said that this manuscript gave her the thrills. There’s not a single redundant sentence in there; not only was it perfect in the technical sense, but the scenes that you intended to express were also astonishingly harmonious throughout the novel... That was the first time I’ve seen her give so much praise to anyone’s work.”

Ha Jae-Gun was not exaggerating at all. If it hadn't been for the professor’s shockingly high praises, Ha Jae-Gun wouldn’t have been able to recall every single word she had said in such detail. Ha Jae-Gun looked at the tombstone and smiled bitterly. His nose suddenly tingled, feeling sorry that a writer with such great talents had no works out in the world.

“That professor suggested that I finish this 70,000-character incomplete manuscript personally. That’s probably when this burden formed in the back of my mind.”

Ha Jae-Gun let out a long sigh. After sitting on the ground blankly for a while, Ha Jae-Gun put the manuscript back into his bag and stood up to leave.

“Please forgive this student of yours for struggling to fill the blank space with his poor penmanship when I couldn’t even fathom what you had in mind while you wrote this. I will try to finish this manuscript somehow, regardless of whether it’ll be published or not. I dare say that this is what things should be for you.”

Ha Jae-Gun then added inwardly, 'I’ll be back again to visit you once it’s completed.'

Then, he turned around to leave.

A few steps later, Ha Jae-Gun’s phone rang, and it was a call from Lee Yeon-Woo.

“Yeah, Yeon-Woo?”

— Have you had lunch, hyung?

“I had it with the assistant secretary. What about you?”

— I had it with Hyun-Kyung hyung, Min-Ho hyung, and Eun-Young noona. Anyway, I’ve finished organizing the essay draft. Could you help me take a look at it?

“Sure, send it to my inbox. You did it quite fast.”

— I didn’t add anything new to it, anyway. I just had to organize all my blog posts together. I’m left with the title now, but I’m not sure what I should call it. Is there anything good?

“Hmm, I tried brainstorming it too. The other writers suggested Writers At The Office Making A Beautiful World, how about that?”

— Gosh, I forgot that I shouldn’t ask your opinion on this.

“Hey, aren’t you being too harsh? What’s wrong with my title? Isn’t it lyrical and nice?”

— Please forget about it, I’m sorry. You’re coming back to the office, right? Eun-Young noona said she’s making baeksuk.

“I can’t today. I’ve got some things I need to organize alone.” Ha Jae-Gun answered and tightened his grip on the bag.

He had steeled his resolve that he would write while waiting for Seo Sang-Do to contact him. His steps were now much lighter heading back home. Ha Jae-Gun thought that he did great by spilling all of his concerns to the Elder.

***

— You’ve worked hard completing the manuscript, Writer Lee Yeon-Woo. Now that the book cover has also been decided, I’ll do my best to make sure that we can publish it as soon as possible.

“Yes, Editor-in-chief. I’ll be waiting for your call, and have a great day.” Lee Yeon-Woo hung up and gave his body a good stretch.

Kang Min-Ho, yang Hyun-Kyung, and all the other writers gave him a round of applause.

“Wow~ You finished it so quickly; you actually finished it overnight?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t even see his fingers moving when I watched him work on the essay.”

Lee Yeon-Woo scratched the back of his head, smiling shyly. He had officially completed the manuscript for his essay as of today. All he had to do was wait for it to get published and go out to the world.

“I hope it’ll sell well,” Jeon Bong-Yi said, twirling her chair around. “It should do well since there are lots of stories related to Ha Jae-Gun oppa, right?”

“Hmm, isn’t it too much to put that conclusion?” Yang Hyun-Kyung said with skepticism in his tone.

Kang Min-Ho nodded in agreement.

“You’re not sure? But it has lots of stories about Ha Jae-Gun oppa,” Jeon Bong-Yi said.

“Most readers prefer reading novels. Even the autobiographies and essays written by renowned writers only get popular for a while, but they don’t exactly sell well.”

“Hmm, is that so...”

“Well, Jae-Gun hyung is still a huge success within Korea, so I’m sure it’ll help with the sales.”

Yang Hyun-Kyung then tapped on Lee Yeon-Woo’s shoulder lightly, asking, “How many copies are you hoping that it’ll sell? Maybe 100,000 copies?”

“No, that’s too much for the essay market in Korea. If it really hit 100,000 copies, that’d be a huge hit. I’m not that greedy.”

“Don’t lie. Wouldn't it be great for you if it performs well?”

“Of course, I’d be happy if that happens. That way, I’ll be able to bring my mother over and live in a studio nearby.” Lee Yeon-Woo smiled bitterly, looking down.

As the atmosphere turned solemn, Kang Min-Ho patted Lee Yeon-Woo’s shoulder like an eldest brother would and encouraged him. “Things will turn out well. You’re done writing it, so forget about it now.”

“Thank you, hyung. I’m happy to be able to release a book thanks to Ha Jae-Gun hyung. For real.”

Just then, Jang Eun-Young stepped out of the bathroom. She couldn’t even catch the towel that was wrapped around her wet hair properly and asked in a hurry, “Min-Ho hyung, isn’t it starting?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The live broadcast! Didn’t you say it was today?”

“Oh right! I forgot about it while talking about Yeon-Woo’s essay.” Kang Min-Ho returned to his computer.

Everyone including Jang Eun-Young gathered around him, and soon a video appeared on the screen. It was the start of the movie press conference for Records of the Modern Master.

***

The enthusiasm on-site at the press conference was much higher than in any other movie. The reporters present were all only focused on two people seated at the table on stage.

One of them was the actor playing the main lead in Records of the Modern Master, and the other was the writer of the original novel.

“This question is for Mr. Park Do-Joon. You have declined interviews with all media outlets during the movie’s filming period. I heard that it was because you wanted to focus on the role. What do you think of the results of your hard work?”

“I did everything I could with no regrets.”

“The proportion of Mandarin used in the movie is relatively high. Did you face any difficulty during acting?”

“I have done meticulous practice for the Mandarin lines in the script. Even the Chinese production crew had admitted that there was no incompatibility in my pronunciation or accent.” Park Do-Joon was relentless in his answer.

Neither did he smile once throughout the press conference. He seemed to still be withholding the tension of Jin Cheon-Wi from Records of the Modern Master.

On the other hand...

“This is a question for Writer Ha Jae-Gun.”

Similar questions to Park Do-Joon’s were directed to Ha Jae-Gun as well. That time when he sat quietly like a party pooper at the press conference for Summer in My 20s felt like a lie. Now that he was here, he wasn’t just the original author.

“I actually thought that you wouldn’t appear at this press conference today, so it’s quite surprising to see you here. It’s honestly been a while since you’ve shown yourself in public after The Malice. How do you feel?”

“I’m quite excited, and I’m not the least bit worried about the movie at all since there’s an amazing director and great actors like Mr. Park Do-Joon. I believe with all their help, the movie would turn out great.”

As soon as he finished his answer, another reporter came forward to ask their question.

“The official release date for Records of the Modern Master in Korea is two months later. The imminent release date of the movie The Breath which is undergoing production with Wizardry Pictures was recently hinted at by a certain media outlet as well. If the release period overlaps, wouldn't that be an internal strife for you, Writer Ha Jae-Gun?”

Light laughter erupted from the audience. Ha Jae-Gun laughed awkwardly as well, but he still gave his reply. “Even if it did overlap it’d be well after Records of the Modern Master gets released. So I haven’t really thought about it.”

“I heard that you’re almost done with working on The Breath Part 2. Have you decided anything about the movie adaptation for it?”

“I’m sorry, but I think we’ve digressed quite a bit from the topic of this press conference, which is supposed to be about Records of the Modern Master. I’ll give you an answer separately after this press conference.” Ha Jae-Gun declined the question politely.

The spotlight of this press conference was the production crew and actors in Records of the Modern Master. However, there were also other reporters who took over the baton.

“There are rumors that you began writing The Breath Part 2 at the request of the minister from the Ministry of Culture. I heard that it was an earnest request not to stop The Breath with Part 1—all for the nation’s interest at heart. Is this true?”

“I can only repeat my answer which I’ve given to the reporter earlier. Please only ask questions related to the movie, Records of the Modern Master.”

As Ha Jae-Gun declined once more, the reporter had no other choice but to step down. Taking advantage of the brief silence, another reporter took over the microphone and stood up.

“I have a question for both Mr. Park Do-Joon and Writer Ha Jae-Gun. Everyone knows that both of you are the closest friends. Did you exchange anything about work this time as well?”

“Ah... About that...” Ha Jae-Gun trailed off and glanced at Park Do-Joon. He didn’t have anything to reply to the reporter. The only conversation both Ha Jae-Gun and Park Do-Joon had recently was when he went to pay respects to Park Do-Joon’s late brother at the charnel house, and it was a stretch to say that it was about work at all.

On top of that, there was a slight awkwardness between them.

Ha Jae-Gun hadn’t been able to have a proper talk with Park Do-Joon, even before the press conference. Park Do-Joon had an air of rigidness even up until the start of the press conference, which made it hard for Ha Jae-Gun to progress from small talk.

He had decided to wait until Park Do-Joon could let go of the burden on his mind.

As the room turned silent, the reporter chuckled and threw out a joke.

“Why are both of you so quiet? It seems like your relationship has turned quite awkward. I saw from your social media that both of you play billiards quite often together. Do you usually play billiards when you meet? Did you argue because of a recent game?”

Everyone in the audience burst into laughter. Park Do-Joon picked up the microphone as soon as the laughter died down.

“We haven't been able to play billiards these days. Like usual, Ha Jae-Gun—no, Writer Ha Jae-Gun and I would share our opinions whenever we meet. He gave me countless important advice like any writer who has written great novels.”

Ha Jae-Gun chuckled as he looked down on his lap. He did nothing to help Park Do-Joon and felt sorry even though he knew Park Do-Joon only answered out of formality.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Writer Ha Jae-Gun, both as an actor and a friend. I haven’t been able to talk to him ever since I set foot in Korea.” Park Do-Joon then looked in Ha Jae-Gun’s direction and bowed lightly.

The reporter who asked the question also gave a round of applause, which began to spread throughout the auditorium.

After the press conference, Ha Jae-Gun left the venue a step ahead of everyone else. But before he could escape to the corridor leading to the emergency exit, Park Do-Joon caught up with him.

“Huh? What about the interview?”

“I can always do that later. How dare you throw everything on me and try to escape alone?”

“Yeah, I’m cowardly and decided to run alone. I’m hungry so I’m going to grab a bite.”

The two friends then laughed together. In the empty corridor, Park Do-Joon continued, “I’m sorry back then. I was on edge because of the movie.”

“I understand. It’s my fault for not being considerate.”

“It’s not your fault, it was me. Anyway, don’t worry about the movie. As you said before, Jin Cheon-Wi has perfectly come in sync with this world top star, Park Do-Joon.”

“You don’t have to say that; I haven’t worried a single bit. The acting you’ve shown me so far has only been the best. That’s what Records of the Modern Master is going to be.”

“And...”

“And what?”

Park Do-Joon couldn’t continue and looked in all directions. He finally spoke after a while as Ha Jae-Gun waited patiently for him.

“And my hyung...”

“Ah, forget it. Let’s go eat if you’re not doing the interview.” Ha Jae-Gun waved his hand and cut Park Do-Joon off.

It was fine as long as their intentions were conveyed. He didn’t like to see the top star losing his cool and at a loss for what to do.

“Alright. Let’s run off then. What do you want to eat?”

“Anything but army stew. I had too much of it recently. Are you not going to give Tae-Bong hyung a call?”

“I can always call him after we’ve escaped. Let’s go.”

“I’m not going to take responsibility for this. You’re going on your own accord.”

“You’re such a coward, Ha Jae-Gun.”

The two friends chuckled as they picked up pace. The reporters who managed to track them opened the door and found only an empty corridor.

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